> this is a new jersey katrina. >> plus, peter greenberg with our survival guide. what to do if you're sanded t the airport. required to give you a for free? never check ld bag. now from battery park in new york city, this is "extra. >> hey, everybody, i'm maria enounos. t was a scary nightn new ork city, mario, between the looding and the winds. was right by a hotel door that completely shattered from he impact. wow, , the shots that were it's really nbelievable. what's it like to get around there? >> it's virtually impossible. have an army of photogs including alec and hilaria who shot from their apartment. some let's get to breaking news. transformed pple water world, histstoric far as the eye can see. and in the ound sky. than 30 dead, boats tossed a megatrail of

destruction. >> forecast to be a superstorm and boy was it ever. >> a historic storm in every measure. subways swamped ground zero inundated. repoers up and down the east oast braving thelements. aught in sandy's fury. worst wind that had. >> weather channel meteorologist jim cantore with maria today. feel like it was bad thought it would be? >> maybe a little worse, actually. there's water four feet high in the streets and cars floating round. it was a movie set everywhere ou turned. > rosie o'donnell snapping his pic of her dock in hambles. maria shriver, hyannisport overed in water. w yorkers turning into eporters on the web. of this building heap of rubble. tourist attraion today, a disaster zone. beep]. >> one man in his car floating own 14th street.

> need to get out and get in a car. > and a jet skier on a new york road turned into a river. "the new york times" with this ime lapapse video as the storm hit. he donald hunkered down in his rump fortress, tweeting in "everything's normal" pic today. > my office is open, the building is a rock and doesn't budge. > this is the moment much of manhattan was plunged into arkness. wild video of a transformer exploding. crews furiously working to get electricity back on. > power outages for millions f people, not only for a day r two but several weeks. knbc weaer caster fritz oleman with mario at the grove. >> is this intense weather telling us something. >> it's a period ofive or six years and this i is the worst. >> gotham hunkering down for a long and dark night. >> jim, where es the storm ank among all the storms ou've covered? > given what we know already

it's done s and what new york and the jersey hore and west virginia, it's right up there. it impacted so manmillions of people. that will be the big one about is. > sandy had a huge impact on businesses here, including tv shows. letterman and fallon without a audience and i know you'll be on "letterman" tonight. >> and probably without t an audience tonight there won't be manany there as well. > an oscar-winning superstar braving thshow, proving the show must go on. >> fighting for your life out here, my friend. >> only for you, dave. thank you. audience, no problem. thank you very much for in the ed here ullivan shelter. letterman and jimmy it will owing america take a lot more than a hurricane to keep p them do. >> we keptur audience home so they'll be safe and warm. > jimmy forced came cancel his show in brooklyn, tweeting disappointed, too, but we want you to be safe. >> the cost of the storm will be enormous. >> 3,000 miles away in los angeles, sandy on everyone's

mind from ellen degeneres -- thoughts to everybody it. through > to the stars at the premiere of "wreck it with ralph. >> my boyfriend was in new york ity and was evacuated. "dancing with the tars," the storm hitting specially close to home. kirstie begging east coast shelters begging the shelters to let them bring their pet with them. telling his parents to evacuate. >> they say we'll move when it's really bad. my nder where i got from.rnness >> i'm not thinking about the usiness. honestly, it's the last thing e're thinking about. >> and he's more worried about his wi and kids on the east coast. >> i a asked my wife, as much as the show i is important to me, tleave and come home. no, put a smile on and dance. >> in honor of his family, tony and melissa delivered. some breaking tv news for you, because of the storm coverage, the today show" and "g.m.a." telling us their halloween hows for tomorrow are canceled now. as far as "live with kelly and

big special, it's going to be delayed. maria? > jim cantore with me from e weather channel is with me. i saw you at 8:00 a.m. yesterday and thent midnight. here did you end up sleeping in your live truck? >> we made it back to the millenium. think i have gone up streets, ay n new york. i was trying to make it my night.you last i was shooting a video diary throughout the city as did hilaria baldwin. hile i was hitting every corner of the big apple, gosh. my hilaria baldwin was answering this question -- what do you do when you're stuck at home with no power and it looks like this outside? > hey, "extra," it's about 9:00 p.m. and weave lost power. >> only "extra" with h hilaria baldwin. ou've got to see this home movie as hurricane sandy unleashed her wrath on the east coast. >> 5:45 in the morning and new ork city is completely ark. e have some battery on the aptap.

a blackout in t. > that voice we'd know anywhere, hilaria's man alec laying cameran and dog dryer. >> ok. about to expand ur about 90%. > that after the "30 rock" star to brave the elements a take damita and gitana on a walk. > there we go. >> the stars on their cell phon ryan seacrest sharing this lacked out view from his hotel oom and proving the news never leeps. weekly," josh, pic with the help of a flashlight. >> youou can hear it, it sounds so crazyzy. >> whoa, that cab almost hit us. >> i was right in the middle of the storm tracking the devastation sandy left on new york city. a movie right now village. in the west absolutely lights out. lots of sirens. really creepy. decided to hitchhike with

ome nice people who were helping us because we got stranded on the west village. completely flooded. i guess i'm not going is way. long day. a i know a lot of people had it worse. as well, but r it been a long day. tired. > the trees that are down like one behind me definitely an obstacle for people getting around the city. to getting into the city, ario, the hope is that flights will resume tomorrow. >> yeah, hopefully they do open tomorrow. with nearly 14,000 flights canceled, you know it's going to take a while to get back to ormal. tonight, our travel peter greenberg, has survival guide. >> stuck, stranded, what happens now? your airline canceled their flht, are they required to give you a hotel for free? >> this is an act of god under their carriage contract and you're essentially on your own. > cbs news travel editor peter

reenberg busting that ultimate travel myth, breaking down the four things you need to ow when your travel plans go ust. concern, peter, about price gouging? >> there's a concern a little it about price gouging at some hotels at a time like this but ou're dealing with a loss of upply and demand and the supply isn't there right now. >> l l's take it to the poor folks already stranded in the airports, peter. what are some survival tips for hem? >> get food while you can, hydrate yourself, get a good ook and find out where there is wifi access because that will be your means of communication. > when you do rebook, baggage, would it b be smart to not check bag in this case? >> it's smart to not check a ag in any case, especially ow, especially if you have a connecting flight because your bag may not get to where you eed to go. >> what's the final tip, peter? >> most major airlines reap on your ticket without penalty or cancel your flight without any ind of penalty at all or

ebook it until november 4. > online now, safeguarding your family. ytime you travel with your prepare f an e to ventuality like a delay. >> how to do it at extratv.com. >> peter greenberg is with me in l.a. i know you were in wisconsin yesterday and it was like planes, trains and automobiles to get here, huh? >> y you can't go east, you go est. tough, look g gets signs. >> what was the one thing that would surprise people about hat's going on with travel storm right now? >> a how total a shutdown really is. when you close down the east coast, it's not a ripple effect but a wave effect. >> tomorrow, peter has a list f the biggest superstorm ravel scams and how not to get ipped off. >> coming up later on "extra," nside the eye of the storm with the weather channel's jim cantore, his most shocking caught on camera moment ver. > oh [beep]. >> plus, jada pinkett smith on er $2 million lunch with the first lady and what the secret ervice found when they swept

the smith mansion. >> every corner of your house. >s,lus, "extra" is your ncis and "ncis: la" source. two exclusive sneak peeks ext. >> "extra" brought to you by argento cheese snacks. taste the real difference. > coming up, you probably have seen this picture, a shark swimming through a jersey neighborhood. s it real or fakeke? plus, why jada is giving renee high five.

>> "extra, extra.

>> we're back here at mixology nd planet daily's and will heck with maria in new york in second. ut right now i want to bring n renee who just interviewed ada pinkett smith. > jada hosted the first lady her house and at it.s me all about m with jada pinkett smith and we're talking about an impoant issue. jada on the front line of powerful hollywood women raising big bucks for president obama. >> i really wanted to send a message of the influence and ower we have in this community. >> that's why she hosted a fundraising luncheon for the irst lady at the calabasas state. $2:00 raised? >> over. >> how was it to have the secret service sweep your house. >> got to be a little weird. not a bad thing. they helped me find some items i've been looking for for a long time. > like what? > you know, they're in every orner of your house. > speaking of politics she poke to mario lopez and said

she'd like will play him in a movie. >> that would d be great. >> will would love that. >> mrs. smith bringing some olitical star power to cracking s prop 35, down on human trafficking in the sex trade. >> there was willow who brought this issue to me, that my 1ear-old daughter realized he statistics and the reality, as a mother i felt like i have o do this. > activist, mom and wife, jada nd will celebrate their 15th nniversary this new year's eveve. re you going to celebrate? > of course. not a big party. think we've gotten past hat. his is when we celebrate and nternalize and give each other a high f five and go yep, we did nother year. >> something tells me for 15 years will is going to work up a little morthan high fives. let's check back in with maria n new york's battery park. >> a lot of television shows re being bumped by wall-to-wall coverage of the norm but "ncis" and "ncis: los ngeles" are on tonight and efore storm chasing in new

york city, ll cool j came by the grove to give us a sneak peek. agent sam hanna always ready to kick butt, aking names, optional. how far do you go with these cenes? >> i try to do 90% to 95% of my tununts. > tonight ll's best stunts might just be in the bedroom. 'sy shades of cool ay." >> what happened? >> everything. >> last time we were talking about that. >> now i get to do some real romance. > how do you stay in susuch god shape? >> i switch up levels of intensity. i giveve myself 10, , 15 poundsf ovement, either side of my target weight. ou don't nt to be 91 yeyears old playing catch-up, i'll get it back. t's a little late in the game. >> when you vision yourself at 91, what do you nvision? >> la-z-boy and a remote and reat grandkids to bring me ome pie. >> will you still be working out? >> worng out a game of

checkers or something. o. i probably always will stay in ome kind of shahape, yeah. >> federalal agents. rop it or you're dead >> ll's crew just part of this uesday night's ratings one-two punch. > mark harmon's crew gave us a great handoff in the relay ace. > mark's "ncis" crime fighters racing to solve an old mystery and at the center of it, his dad, an ex-family friend illy-dee williams. > nev bring up his name. > i was actually named after illy-dee williams' character nd billy's character also is a arine. > we have something more common than justst our n name. >> "ncis" and "ncis: los ngeles" tonight. > tomorrow night the x-factor" goes live on fox and omorrowow here on "extra," teri as an exclusive interview with imon and britney together. next "extra," simon and britney attling it out on "extra. >> i'm going to n. >> no, i'm going to win. >> terri's exclusive interview before the "x-factor" goes live. ext "extra.

>> up next, the perfect storm, rrible path of destruction, the most unbelievable mages. then is this jersey shark video hoax? the man at the center of the storm, the weather chael's jim cantore. e're uncovering lost video and his shirtless shot, coming p. > "extra" is like no other how on television. > arnold schwarzenegger. > sofia vergara. snooki, get on up here, irl. > it's headline making, it's news making. >> every day, new stars. every day -- >> jennifer lopez. >> a live event. > every day -- >> you guys ready? > "extra" gives you a show for entertainment.

> n next "extra," dramatic new video from maria's hurricane diary. and e woman america is talking about, m mayayor bloomberg's sign language intereter.

welcome to "extra" here in a new york city. battery park along with jim cantore from the weather channel. he's been covering this from every angle.

mario, we've seen some unbelievable pictures from this storm. >> yeah, i can't get over some of the pictures, breezy point, ueens, looks like a war zone and then you have boats on train tracks, trains uer ater, cars floating down the streets of manhattan. it's unbelievable. lso, this picture went viral on twitter and facebook, a hark swimming through a jersey eighborhood. but don't believe it, veryone. it's a fake. > what is the one iconic image hat sticks out from this storm o you? >> the one image that sticks out with me is thene i saw where the water is coming in underground in the subway. hat's when i knew we had to -- e had broken a record here and worst case scenario for new york. worst case scenario is something jim knows all about. >> there's been an all-time record surge. this is the worst, without a doubt. >> tracking the weather in america for 25 years. >> watch it! > this weather channel warrior putting himself on the front lines. remember.ng scary for you.

you have to make those judgment calls for your crew. > yes, absolutely, because hould you be wrong, then you're going to be putting ehicles under water. >> from this freak thunder-snow lizzard. > son of a [beep]. that's unbelievable. >> to terrifying tornados in oplin. >> completely obliterated, every brick, every window, every metal. >> and of course hurricane katrina. >> 40 nutes ago we still ould see e the tires on that van. >> jim is so synonymous with evere storms the weather channel spoofed him. >> usually when jim shows up ad weather isn't far ehind. "extra" uncovering this lost video. this father of two kids withth special needs worked at the weather channel his entire professional career, landing he gig right after getting his eteorologist degree from yndon college. >> i get to work between 30-3:45 a.m. church softball, a legion of femaleans.

e have the best moments at extratv.com.

>> closed captioning and other consideration fofor "extra" provided by -- >> next "extra," simon and britney battling it out on "extra. >> i'm going to win. >> no, i i'm going to win. >> terri's excsive interview

before the "x-factor" goes live. ext "extra. >> that is it for "extra" from stormy new york city. e'll of course have more for ou tomorrow on the storm amage and the recovery, and off course 24/7 updates at extratv.com. mario? >> thank you, maria. e'll leave you with more shocking images of the wrath sandy left behind on the east coast. we'll see you tomorrow, everyone. [captioning made possible by warner bros. d domestic television distribution] captioned by the national captiing institute ---www.ncicap.org---

this morning on "world news now" -- after the perfect storm. >> with a mixture of determination and disbelief, millions of people reeling from hurricane sandy are taking th i very long recovery. realizing what has been lost and changed forever. >> we will rebuild it. no questionen my mind. we will rebuild it. but for those of us who are my age it went beep the sam >> the numbers are staggering. but they only begin to tell the story. at least 50 dead, more than 8 million without power, tens of billions of dollars in damage. and the resilient people of new york city are once again forced

to find a way to cope. >> and we saw the river coming toward us. and it, it actually looked like -- something out of a -- a movie. it was -- it was unbelievable. >> later today, president obama will visit parts of new jersey that bore the fwrubrunt of the r storm as the vote now six days away is overshadowed by the victims. it's wednesday, october 31st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm paula faris. >> doesn't quite feel like halloween. does it? it's a weird feeling this morning. >> definitely puts a spin on trick-or-treat doesn't it. >> weird holiday today. good morning, i'm rob nelson. the past 36 hours mother nature has taken much from communities throughout the country. >> but that destruction has strengthened the resilience and bonds of people in those

communities. this morning on "world news now," we are going to take a closer look at the storm's aftermath and how people are coping, what has been lost and how they're planning to rebuild it. when you talk about what has been lost, where do you begin, really? >> a long, long road as we said. >> we do begin with the dire situation along new jersey's devastated coastline. i want you to take a look from above, bird's eye view. sand blown blocks into town. houses under water. the popular tourist spot simply gone. >> pictures say it all. now stranded residents are waiting in the dark for rescue. there is a new threat on top of all of that. liking fuel and standing water could spark an explosion. abc's terry moran reports from seaside heights. >> it was a surreal journey. at dusk, we canoed through the flooded streets of seaside heights. a summer town, overwhelmed and eerily silent after the storm wrecked it. >> reporter: this is incredible. here and there those who stayed.

they're refugees now. did you ride the storm out? >> yes, we stayed here. >> reporter: the boardwalk, it was the heart of this classic jersey shore resort. a strange place now. the amusement park is in ruins. the ride that gave generations of kids so many thrills, like crumpled and broken in the surf. little left here. this is sandy's legacy. so many communities will never be the same after this terrible storm struck monday. it made land fame near here margate, new jersey, and as sandy moved inland, the bulk of its wrath was felt in the upper right quadrant of its path leaving a trail of misery stretching north. it devastated atlantic city, jersey shore, beach towns and barrier island all the way up to new york. the island of manhattan inundated as the hudson and east rivers flooded. the richardson family chose to stay behind despite their living room and kitchen in three feet

of water. >> there is nothing to do now but just clean up. >> reporter: new jersey's governor, chris christie known for his brashness seemed himself moved by what he saw. >> as a kid who was -- born and raised in the state, who -- who spent a lot of time over my life at the jersey shore. no question in my mind we will rebuild it. >> reporter: in cape may, the very southern tip touch the shore, no major damage. but a landscape transformed. this is an 8-foot street sign. that is now, waist high. in berkeley, the scene was equally tragically bizarre. as we made our way north along the shore, we got a sense of how vast this recovery must be. even here in seaside heights, a drowned town now, haunted by its stranded and frightened residents, and the ghosts of so many summers past. >> surreal to see. and here in new york city, things are slowly, and we stress slowly, getting back to normal.

crews are working throughout the night to restore power off to the 750,000 people that are still in the dark. >> and the work of pumping out subway and traffic tunnels under the city's rivers is making some progression. the subways do remain closed though. also, closed, la guardia airport which was inundated with water. the other major airports, jfk, new york liberty are resuming service, limited service. >> a record storm surge that caused problems in lower manhattan. extensive precautions were not enough to keep the power on in loper manhattan. on a positive note. we do like positive notes. the new york stock exchange resumes trading this morning. become to back, days off. for the first time in nearly 124 years. >> since 1888. systems were closed for weather. a blied are back then, now this. >> in midtown, manhattan, the massive crane that was toppled in sandy's wind. still hanging. there. >> despite looking precariously

perched. officials say it has ben secured for now. gas and steam lines in the area have been shut off to avoid a danger of fire. new york's mayor actually says given everything else, he quote, feels very good about the crane's situation. i know that neighborhood. people were out there yesterday taking pictures next to it. it's become like a tourist -- destination, in ape weird way the last couple days. >> very weird way. one of the heartwrenching images from our storm coverage was the tiny babies being evacuated from a new york hospital after the power failed. >> now we are learning amazing new details how that rescue operation went down. abc's brandi hitt joining us from outside new york hospital. hi, brandi. >> hi, paula. hi, rob. good morning to you. yes talk about a delicate situation here. 24 hours ago the power went out in loper manhatattan. thatncluded new york university medical center where the power is still out right now. and those backup generators failed. now we are starting to hear the

heroic efforts made by doctors and nurses. they really had to put their priorities straight and go for the emergency and critical care patients including those 20 tiny babies that you may have seen the video of so far that has been coming into the newsroom. i mean, these babies, some of them were on respirators. and they had to have the air pumped manually into their lungs by the nurses and doctors as they carried them down these long stair wells, just, very slowly. you can imagine just a delicate situation. talk about an emotional sight for people who gathered on the street to watch this. the doctors and nurses helped get the critically injured to several hospitals. and some of the equipment was battery operated. this all went off without a hitch which is pretty amazing considering the circumstances according to abc news, dr. jennifer ashton. >> when you talk about moving patients out of the hospital and

taking them down multiple flights of stairs. it is a logistical and medical nightmare. >> again it all went off without a hitch. you even heard from president obama today. praising those nurses. and the doctors. and now each one of the patients, the hospital behind me is now empty. each one of the patients is now being treated some where else, that they still need care. if not they have been allowed to go home. as you can see also here, we are still in the dark in lower manhattan. likely going to be several more days before they get the power restored to the region. rob, paula. >> all right, brandi hitt in manhattan this morning. brand spichl brandi, thank you for the report. they knew it would be bad, the intensity and cope of sandy took even the most seasoned weather experts by complete surprise. >> no one thought it would be this bad. after covering storms for decade. abc's sam champion was amazed as he rode out this one in the hardest hit area of manhattan. >> reporter: after 30 years of covering storms, there was no

doubt in of my mind that sandy was going to be the super storm predicted. simply because no super charged, hybrid storm like this had ever made land fame. it was a hurricane wrapped in a no nor'easter. we are standing as the rolling water laps over the edge. there is a whitecap. i knew there would be serious flooding by the next high tide. you can't seep the edge of the fence. i can't get there any way. that means the water is about this high there. just after 10:00 monday night, i was stunned to realize the extent of that flooding. there we were, all surrounded by walter. now trapped on an island inside an island, looking for a way to get out. first driving south, then east, and then north. only to find a blockade of water at every turn. we had no choice but to retreat to the highest possible spot and wait out the night. we were lucky the water went down in a matter of hours and we were able to get out. for other whose have suffered the effect of sandy, the way to

be clear of those effects will be much longer. sam champion, abc news, new york. >> you hear people, who this is their business. weather, covered it for years. to hear them talk about it in such term of being so amazed. puts it into perspective how bad this really was. how many storms as he seen. this one caught him by surprise. >> it was the perfect storm. sandy fueled a massive fire in queens, one of the most destructive in the history of the city. >> beyond heartbreaking. the wind-driven flames ripped through block after block, destroying more than 100 homes, 111, latest count. fire fighters managed to rescue two dozen people. flood walters kept them from tackling the blaze full on. before it was over, the neighborhood was unrecognizable. reduced to nothing but smoldering ash. >> the life got ripped out of you. that is a good description. >> i have over 34 years on the job. i have never seen this before. this amount of devastation. >> amazingly there only a few

minor injuries. breezy point was also devastated on 9/11, losing 37 residents including fire fighters in the world trade center. also the home currently to a, representative in congress. as well. >> take a look at the video. it is apocalyptic. the scenes. iffage in 111 homes all burned. they don't know the cause just yet. that is look a movie scene out of there. out of all the horrible scenes we are going to see from the aftermath. the fire in queens, that neighborhood, i find that particularly heartbreaking. god bless the folks out there. an entire community just wiped out. the firefighters to a certain extent were helpless against it. just unbelievable. unbelievable. >> the cruel irony, the fire fighters, majority of firefighters that live there. yet a blaze they could do nothing about. >> so sad. to lighten it up here with a eat story about quite an arrival during the storm. >> a little liam schlepey couldn't wait to get life going monday. his mom, christine started having serious contractions just

as they lost power. after two ambulance ride they arrived, not at a hospital but at a church gym. >> sure they were praying. where christine gave birth. the help of doctors who never delivered a child before. and with no anesthesia. 5 pound, 2 ounce, liam, mom and dad all doing well. he is a beautiful little baby. >> welcome to the world, kid. >> our coverage of the aftermath of hurricane sandy continues after the break. >> up next, we will fake you to communities where families lost everything in an instant. and first responders frantically rushed those people to safety. ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by consumer cellular. [ female announcer ] so how long have you been living flake-free

with head & shoulders? since before jeans were this skinny... since us three got a haircut. since my first twenty-ninth birthday. [ female announcer ] head & shoulders. live flake free. the rid-x septic subscriber program helps prevent backups by sending you monthly doses right to your door so you will never forget to maintain your system. sign up at rid-x.com.

the pictures just -- can't put those into word. one of the hardest-hit towns in the hardest-hit state is little ferry new jersey. sandy's tidal surge overwhelming the levee meant to protect it. >> within an hour, little ferry was under water. within another hour the rescues

were under way. abc's alex perez is there. >> reporter: rescuers made their way through flooded streets, picking up stranded families. >> do you want to come out? >> what? >> reporter: the boats bringing people to where they could be trucked to safety. whole families, huddling together in the backs of trucks. >> the entire -- able to go up on the second floor which was us. the water is almost gone. we have a baby. >> baby, baby. >> reporter: the frantic rescue operation began after sandy's storm surge swamped new jersey. >> it happened so fast. within 15 minutes. we had ten feet of water. >> stunned resident like vincent, grabbed whatever they could as the waters rose. >> there's nothing there no more. nothing. you can't salvage anything. >> reporter: new jersey took the brunt of sandy's wrath. the coast especially hit hard.

these images from the town of seaside heights. neighborhood consumed by sand and water. down the shore, look at this. the community of seabright before sandy. and seabraight today just burie. in atlantic city the iconic boardwalk nowen ruins. the recovery in the garden state just beginning. but saving lives was the top priority. >> she can't walk. thoughts are she is in good spirits. she is not injured. and we are just waiting to -- her daughter. and get her to a evacuation center. >> reporter: first responders also racing to save lives in new york. boats navigating the swamped streets of staten island across the harbor. terrified 3-year-old haley, lifted into the arms of safety. so the rescues continue. >> guys you can just put them on the boat! >> reporter: sandy may have taken away these people's home, but she couldn't take away what they cherished the most. rescue crews are expected to continue working through the

night to make sure people stranded in their home are able to got to safety. most people say they thought they were prepared for the storm. one family tells me they moved all of their valuables, their belongings up, four feet off the ground inside their home. the problem is, they got five feet of water inside their home. alex perez, ax news, little ferry, new jersey.

welcome back. president obama will be in new jersey touring the storm damage with governor christie. >> the election is less than a week away. and sandy has blown both candidates off course. here is jonathan karl. >> reporter: mitt romney transformed the planned ohio rally into a bid to support relief efforts. >> we won't be able to solve all the problems with our effort. one of the things i learned in

life is you make the difference you can. >> reporter: it has trappings of a traditional campaign event, stage, big american flag, campaign music, lots of romney supporters. but you also have over here canned goods and supplies that people have brought for vick,ti of the storm. the storm put romneyen a bind. while the president can lead relief efforts. >> this is something heartbreaking for the nation. >> reporter: there is not much for romney to do beyond encouraging supporters to pitch in. with fema working overtime, democrats are hammering him for what he said at a debate when asked if some of fema's responsibilities should be turned over to the states. >> abslaugolutely. any team you have occasion to take something from the federal government and send back to the states that is the right direction. if you can go back and send it to the private sector that's better. >> reporter: romney wouldn't answer question as but that? >> governor would you eliminate fema if you were president. >> reporter: with canceled

events. the campaign continues. bill clinton led a rally in indianapolis that appeared entirely political. with a race this close, not even a storm of the century can bring the campaign to a halt. jonathan karl, abc news, kettering ohio. cover everything.'t only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist.

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rescued. and at snowshoe mountain resort, snowdrifted into piles 3 feet high. whipped by 60 mile an hour winds. truckers and travelers were forced to wait out the blizzard when a major highway from maryland to west virginia was shut down for 50 miles. when we caught up with kevin he had been stranded for 15 hours. >> been here sense what, 8:00. >> in maryland, road crews struggled to open the roads. >> chan saw. >> it took mark wells five hours to hack through 50 to 60 trees, just to got to work. >> it was pretty treacherous. the trees were falling behind me as fast as i was cutting them out in front of me. >> reporter: wells had no sleep and there are more roads to clear. the problem isn't just the depth of the snow -- it is deep. it's the weight. this is a very heavy, wet snow. you can seat branches of the trees, they just can't stand up to it. all of those falling trees, brought,0 down power lines.

like everyone here, the myers have no electricity. >> i have seen a lot of snow up here. not from the hurricane. >> reporter: it is not over yet. blizzard warnings remain. lisa stark, abc new, grantsville, maryland. >> the storm was amazing. you think about it. hurricane wrapped in a nor'easter wrapped in a blizzard. it was everything. the most all encompassing system. most have ever witnessed. beyond the flooding and rain here. you had feet of snow. incredible. some places up to 26 inches of snow. >> my family back in michigan. columbus, ohio, got drilled with snow as well. lake michigan expecting the highest waves on record. 22 feet high. >> that was the thing about the storm. the sheer size of it. 1,000 miles from cloud to cloud. in addition to being, at the center, category 3. don't let category 1 fool you. center terms of pressure. cat 3. same size as katrina. size of it cloud to cloud, hard to escape its grip for most of

the country. an amazing system. we will continue to cover it. of course, through out the morning, keep it right here on abc.